Ford has begun working on solutions to combat the issue of too many single-occupant vehicles on the road. More and more people are moving to cities and cars aren't the most appropriate way to get around, so Ford is in the process of developing four solutions: Autonomic, Mode:Link, Spin and Argo AI to tackle the problem.
Ford's 'Last Mile' parcel delivery concept is now being live-trialled with Gnewt Cargo in London and utilises pedestrian couriers to take packages to their final destination. Software is able to sort parcels into vans and work out the optimal route to take in order to turn the workload of five vans into a workload that can be completed by one van with five people on foot.
Vans tend to be brilliant when they are full and travelling on an A road, but they're not as efficient on narrow, one-way roads with traffic lights - in this scenario, pedestrians are faster.
This advancement follows Ford acquiring Autonomic, which brings all forms of transport together with the Transport Mobility Cloud to provide information on the best way to get about.
Ford is also working on an electric scooter scheme in the US called 'Spin' which they are hoping to introduce to the UK once the laws preventing e-scooters from driving on roads and pavements are reevaluated.
Ford's final major Mobility project is to bring an autonomous vehicle for a commercial operation to market by 2021. Working with Argo AI, the software will be integrated into the purpose-built car which can be used for ride-hailing and delivery services.
Ford's role in mobility is to make a change towards alternate options such as pedestrian zones and switching the balance away from cars being the dominant force.
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